Friday Evening Business Brief

June 13, 2014, 5:47 PM

The stock market is closing higher on corporate deal news and an improved forecast from chipmaker Intel. The S&P 500 rose six points to close at 1,936. The gain snapped a three-day losing streak for the index. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 41 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,775. The Nasdaq gained 13 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,310.

The price of oil is climbing because Iraq's insurgency is threatening to disrupt crude exports. Iraq is OPEC's No. 2 producer. Benchmark U.S. crude for July delivery rose 38 cents to $106.91 a barrel today in New York. Oil prices are up 4 percent this week.

Target Corp.'s final shareholder vote tally is showing some dissent against key board members. All 10 nominees were elected to the board Wednesday at the discounter's annual shareholders' meeting. But the rise in votes against several key board members underscores how a massive data breach at the Minneapolis-based company is eroding faith among its investors.

The Justice Department is finalizing a lawsuit against Citigroup over the bank's sale of residential mortgage-backed securities after negotiations to resolve the matter broke down this week. That's according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Other big banks have also been pursued for similar conduct in the years preceding the 2008 financial crisis.

Facebook has successfully defended itself against a lawsuit that claimed the company infringed on patents held by a now-deceased Dutch computer programmer who launched a website called "Surfbook" more than a decade ago. But Surfbook never got off the ground. A jury in federal court in Virginia returned the verdict today in favor of Facebook.